$155m Senate requests protection for domestic metres producers for World Bank loan

Following the acceptance of a $155 million World Bank loan for the National Mass Metering Programme (NMMP) of the Federal Government, the Senate on Thursday sought protection for regional makers of metres.

The resolution was a follow-up to the motion put out in plenary by Senator Victor Umeh (LP, Anambra Central).

When introducing the motion, Umeh remarked that industrial procurement regulators in every developing country have a responsibility to support local producers and “would only attempt to augment importation of goods and services where there is a clear-cut gap between local production and consumption.”

“Members of the Association of Metre Manufacturers of Nigeria, AMMON, are capable of producing world-standard smart metres, so the Transmission Company of Nigeria, TCN, and the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, NERC, under Phase 1 of the Mass Metering Programme of the federal government, issued the association, after a competitive bidding process, a ‘Letter of No Objection’ to award four million metres in 2022.

“The Central Bank of Nigeria also committed to funding the National Mass Metering Programme, NMMP, Phase 1 in 2020, but withdrew funding eight months after awards to local manufacturers, which had an impact on the program’s viability.”

However, Umeh expressed concern that “the ongoing World Bank-funded NMMP Phase 2 seeks to promote foreign companies’ participation against competent and pre-qualified local metre manufacturers [which] will ultimately result in the loss of jobs and revenue.” Umeh revealed that the World Bank has approved a $155 million loan for the National Mass Metering Programme.

The congressman added that TCN, on behalf of the World Bank, has extended the deadline for bids until July 25, 2023 after closing the bidding advertisement on July 11, 2023, for the delivery and installation of 1.2 million smart metres at the country’s 11 distribution firms.

According to him, the 35 local metre makers’ participation had been completely marginalised and eliminated by the bidding criterion, which could only be met by international businesses.

He emphasised that if the situation were to persist, it would be devastating for AMMON members, who have made billions of naira in investments in the industry and currently employ 10,000 direct employees and more than 30,000 indirect ones.

The Senate requested the Federal Government in its resolutions to immediately halt the TCN Tender for the NMMP Phase 2 World Bank-funded project. The goal is to conduct a thorough evaluation of the procurement criteria in order to give local manufacture and assembly top priority in accordance with the local content and backward integration policies that stimulate Nigeria’s economy by creating jobs, strengthening capacity, and fostering growth.

The Senate also requested that TCN and other interested parties engage in negotiations with the African Export-Import Bank (AFREXIM) and the African Development Bank (AFDB) for alternative loans in the event that the terms of the World Bank loan do not support local economic growth at this crucial juncture of high unemployment and naira devaluation.

The Senate also demanded that the CBN intervention funds for AMMON members be evaluated in order to advance the sector’s growth and the country’s economy.